The media sector can play a key role in helping fragile nations transition out of conflict. International agencies acknowledge this potential and invest considerable resources in trying to establish media outlets that are editorially free and financially independent. Typically, donors do not establish a timeframe in which to achieve a free and independent media sector in any fragile nation. This open-ended approach to media development has been tried in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and, after nearly a decade, it has failed to yield anticipated results. A new media assessment tool developed by USIP combines elements of a traditional media assessment with a conflict analysis to provide a concrete and realistic understanding of how media can advance social stability and peace in any nation in conflict. The authors assessed the Afghanistan media sector using this tool, and they present their key findings and recommendations in this report. Based on their holistic assessment, the authors recommend a fundamental shift in the approach to media development in Afghanistan. They urge funders to move away from an open-ended strategy of creating a free and independent media sector. In its place, the authors recommend that funders support specific content-driven interventions that promote social stability objectives as defined by Afghans themselves.Per saperne di più…

Abstract:

The media sector can play a key role in helping fragile nations transition out of conflict. International agencies acknowledge this potential and invest considerable resources in trying to establish media outlets that are editorially free and financially independent. Typically, donors do not establish a timeframe in which to achieve a free and independent media sector in any fragile nation. This open-ended approach to media development has been tried in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and, after nearly a decade, it has failed to yield anticipated results. A new media assessment tool developed by USIP combines elements of a traditional media assessment with a conflict analysis to provide a concrete and realistic understanding of how media can advance social stability and peace in any nation in conflict. The authors assessed the Afghanistan media sector using this tool, and they present their key findings and recommendations in this report. Based on their holistic assessment, the authors recommend a fundamental shift in the approach to media development in Afghanistan. They urge funders to move away from an open-ended strategy of creating a free and independent media sector. In its place, the authors recommend that funders support specific content-driven interventions that promote social stability objectives as defined by Afghans themselves.

"The media sector can play a key role in helping fragile nations transition out of conflict. International agencies acknowledge this potential and invest considerable resources in trying to establish media outlets that are editorially free and financially independent. Typically, donors do not establish a timeframe in which to achieve a free and independent media sector in any fragile nation. This open-ended approach to media development has been tried in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and, after nearly a decade, it has failed to yield anticipated results. A new media assessment tool developed by USIP combines elements of a traditional media assessment with a conflict analysis to provide a concrete and realistic understanding of how media can advance social stability and peace in any nation in conflict. The authors assessed the Afghanistan media sector using this tool, and they present their key findings and recommendations in this report. Based on their holistic assessment, the authors recommend a fundamental shift in the approach to media development in Afghanistan. They urge funders to move away from an open-ended strategy of creating a free and independent media sector. In its place, the authors recommend that funders support specific content-driven interventions that promote social stability objectives as defined by Afghans themselves."